Time to formally mark World Maternal Mental Health Day on UN calendar

It’s time to formally mark World Maternal Mental Health Day on the UN calendar

Gidget Foundation

For the past two decades, Gidget Foundation Australia (GFA) has been advocating for, and supporting the wellbeing of expectant and new parents to ensure they receive timely, appropriate and specialist care. Today, our work is more important than ever with perinatal depression and anxiety (PNDA) affecting one in five mothers and one in ten fathers, impacting 100,000 Australian families every year.

Despite the far-reaching impacts of PNDA, our most recent survey reveals that one in five new parents think PNDA is an expected part of parenting, and more than half don’t know how to spot the early signs. These figures are concerning, given the potentially devastating impacts of PNDA when left untreated.

This World Maternal Mental Health Day (3 May), Gidget Foundation Australia is joining an international campaign calling upon the World Health Assembly and the UN World Health Organisation to officially mark World Maternal Mental Health Day in their annual awareness calendar. By globally recognising World Maternal Mental Health Day as a permanent date, we are acknowledging that the mental wellbeing of all parents is a serious issue and something that deserves focus and action.

The theme for World Maternal Mental Health Day this year is ‘Stronger Together’ – and this is something the Gidget Foundation wholeheartedly supports. It is concerning to learn that over half of parents don’t know how to identify if they, or someone they know is experiencing perinatal depression or anxiety. Parents and their communities need to be better equipped in spotting the signs of mental ill health in expectant and new parents.

Because baby blues are commonly accepted as a normal experience within the first couple of weeks after giving birth, the lines between baby blues and perinatal depression can be blurred. This is why education and early intervention is so important. If a new parent is struggling, even within those first few weeks, it shouldn’t be dismissed as ‘the baby blues’.

The early symptoms of PNDA can include a lack of enjoyment in previously loved activities, feeling numb or hopeless about the future, separating yourself from loved ones, repetitive negative thought patterns or frequent feelings of loss, guilt, or grief. The good news from our data however, is that more than one in three parents report feeling validated when they hear stories shared by other parents. This is why we are continually exploring new ways to connect parents in our Gidget Foundation community.

This desire to connect more parents and their families led to the creation of a podcast, 1 in 5 mothers, 1 in 10 fathers – where courageous individuals talk about their personal experiences to help others. By creating a platform where parents with lived experience of PNDA can share their stories, in their own words, we hope those listening will be better able to identify the early signs of PNDA. Our specialist Gidget Clinicians are also there to share further insights, tips and supports as part of each episode.

A report developed by PwC on behalf of Gidget Foundation Australia estimates the lifetime costs associated with PNDA reach upwards of $7.3 billion encompassing both short and long-term impacts on the parent, their partner, baby, workplace, and the wider community. If we can educate parents and their support networks on how to better spot the warning signs, we can make a difference for these families.

I encourage you to sign the World Maternal Mental Health Day Petition and listen to these generous personal stories of PNDA shared on our Gidget Foundation Australia podcast.

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